Hold My Mind And My Heart
by Scrabby
Summary: When he first sees her, she is nobody. The last time, she means everything to him.


The first time he sees her, she is of no importance to him. It's only a second and he catches a glimpse of her perfect golden locks – the perfect little baby vampire, doing him the favor of dying in order for him to become what he was always supposed to be. He doesn't know her name when he watches his witches drag her into the tomb. '_It's Caroline'_, Greta tells him but he waves his hand and leaves. 'Thank you, Caroline, then,' is everything he can think of saying.

Klaus forgets her until he sees her again when he's back to Mystic Falls. Her golden curls are still perfect and she is still around that werewolf he had captured for the sacrifice. She cries as the boy has the doppelganger's blood and Klaus wants to shut her up, but he can't, something stops him and he needs to get away from there: this is the last that Mystic Falls will see of him.

Eventually he returns to celebrate Mikael's death and once again he catches a glimpse of the blonde vampire he once planned to kill. The party is destined to be a bloodbath and he wants to get her out – she is the girlfriend of his hybrid, he remembers, and that would make a perfect excuse. She gets out before he gets stabbed and kills his father.

He needs to see her again and he needs leverage. Everyone loves Caroline and she is perfect for it; he hates it, but he has to. He tells the boy to bite her, and when he does, Klaus hurries to her, he would hate to be late. He knows it's her birthday and he has something prepared, even though he knows she hates him. He comes into her home and stands beside her bed; she looks beautiful even when she's dying and he wants to show her everything life has to offer, but she looks at him hatefully so he almost thinks of leaving. He doesn't. He tells her his biggest secret, he shows his humanity to her and he regrets it instantly, but it's already too late and she accepts his offer and has his blood. She heals quickly and falls asleep. Klaus watches her for a while and leaves through the window quickly after he leaves one of his most valued possessions on her nightstand.

It's the day of the ball and his mother teases him and he can't help but think of her immediately. He sends her an invitation and a dress, and he worries it's too much but it's already done so he gets ready with his siblings and waits and chats with guests at the ball until she arrives and once they speak she reacts just the way he imagined she would and it doesn't even hurt him. She rejects him most of the time, obviously, but he notices the little smiles she gives him every now and then when they talk. He notices the surprise in her eyes as they dance and he is stupid enough to reveal he knows things about her; what will he do next, he asks himself and curses mentally everything he has ever done regarding Caroline Forbes. It doesn't stop him from telling her more personal things and once again he regrets it the moment the words leave his mouth, but the girl seems to have everything figured out and feels like she is in the right place to teach him how to live his life. He decides he's done with trying to seduce her, but he soon forgets it. He shows her his paintings and she seems to be impressed but he takes everything too far and speaks of the world and brags – she is repulsed and leaves the room and he doesn't see her anymore that evening, he just leaves her a drawing on her bed and runs.

He is too dumbstruck to sense something is wrong when she agrees to get to know him. It surprises him, but he doesn't let her see that. She tells him she is too smart to be seduced by him and he already knows that, but keeps trying anyway. He feels a pierce through his heart and he knows she fooled him and he wants to snap her neck but he knows he'd regret it soon after so he just leaves her and hopes not to see her again. When he comes home, he burns every image of her. He decides Caroline Forbes is not worthy of his love.

He forgets his decision when he sees her at the dance in the perfect dress and with the perfect music and as they dance he notices how uncomfortably she shifts when he tells her he's leaving. She puts on an act and he feels hurt by it, but tries to keep a firm face. He fails, he can tell, with the way he gets all defensive and promising her she would want to find him in the future, given she lives to see it, he means, and he leaves her thinking about the small town life he predicted she would have. Rome, Paris, Tokyo – he was sure he would show her the world one day.

He doesn't believe himself that he doesn't care about her and neither does anyone else. He notices the irony in Damon's provocation but says nothing; no matter what he wants to believe, Klaus knows he will save Caroline and he does – he tells her to run and he can see how safe she feels when he holds her and how hesitantly she runs away.

It's the last time he sees her through his own eyes. He doesn't know when it will happen again.


End file.
